US television network ABC is facing a $1.4 million fine brought by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over broadcasting an episode of "NYPD Blue" which included female nudity, five years ago.

According to TVWeek, the FCC said Friday that the episode’s opening scene depicted a woman as she was preparing to shower, revealing some of her private parts, breasts and backside, while a child entered the bathroom.

Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate said Friday's action puts broadcasters on notice.

"Our action today should serve as a reminder to all broadcasters that Congress and American families continue to be concerned about protecting children from harmful material and that the FCC will enforce the laws of the land vigilantly," she wrote in a statement accompanying the fine notice.

"In fact, pursuant to the Broadcast Decency Act of 2005, Congress increased the maximum authorized fines ten-fold. The law is simple. If a broadcaster makes the decision to show indecent programming, it must air between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. This is neither difficult to understand nor burdensome to implement."

The scene sparked controversy with numerous groups, including the American Family Association, generating thousands of complaints for the FCC, although ABC claimed it only received a few. The proposed penalty is  being imposed on all 52 of ABC’s stations which broadcasted the episode.

According to the agency order, "The scene contains explicit and graphic depictions of sexual organs. The scene depicts multiple, close-range views of an adult woman’s naked buttocks. We find that the broadcast dwells on and repeats the sexual material. We have held that repetition and persistent focus on sexual or excretory material is a relevant factor in evaluating the potential offensiveness of broadcasts. Here, the scene revolves around the woman’s nudity and includes several shots of her naked buttocks. The material is thus dwelled upon and repeated."

However, ABC rejected the accusations claiming "the buttocks are not a sexual organ."

"'NYPD Blue,' which aired on ABC from 1993-2005, was an Emmy Award-winning drama, broadcast with appropriate parental warnings as well as V-chip enabled program ratings from the time such ratings were implemented," the company said. "When the brief scene in question was telecast almost five years ago, this critically acclaimed drama had been on the air for a decade and the realistic nature of its storylines was well known to the viewing public. ABC feels strongly that the FCC's finding is inconsistent with prior precedent from the Commission, the indecency statute, and the First Amendment, and we intend to oppose the proposed fine."

Two years ago, the FCC proposed a record $3.6 million fine against CBS television stations for a 2004 episode of "Without a Trace." The network settled with the FCC for $300,000. That also marked the most recent television indecency fine proposed by the FCC until Friday.